Buyers Point to a Faster Purchase Process in September

The record witnessed with the CDK Ease of Purchase score in August wasn’t repeated in September despite higher inventory levels and even more people finding the cars they wanted in stock. That one factor, 76%, up from 72% in August, generally correlates to a higher overall Ease of Purchase score. But other factors seemed to be at odds, with buyers last month knocking the sky-high 93% of August down to just a very, very good 89%.

That second-highest top score should still be applauded and put on a pedestal because very few factors dipped from month to month. Our survey also occurred in the earlier part of September before Hurricane Helene made landfall on the southern part of the U.S.

The only negative change on the big scorecard was how easy buyers said applying for credit was, falling from 66% to … 65%. Not a drastic drop. Another factor we regularly track is the F&I experience and that did see a significant drop from 71% in August to 66% in September. Taking delivery saw a small drop as well from 75% to 74%. But these are relatively small drops and, in fact, many other areas saw improvement even if the big score wasn’t … as big.

Often, the financial aspects of a deal can put a dent on the overall purchase experience. But price negotiation stayed flat at 68% and more people said it was easy to negotiate the value of the trade-in moving from 57% in August to 61% in September.

Even taking a test drive improved slightly from 80% to 82% of people finding that crucial part of the dealership experience easy.

More buyers also felt they were able to complete the purchase process faster than they expected. A quarter of buyers (25%) in September responded that way compared to 20% in August.